Timbre
by Cakedecorator
Summary: Timbre: the "color" of music, or the character of a sound. It's why two different people saying the exact same thing will still sound different. In order to make his dreams come true, Luka's gonna have to figure out how to disguise his own timbre. But he won't be able to pull it off alone. He'll need some magical help from a talking snake creature. Season 3 Spoilers
1. Chapter 1

**This just came up into my head out of nowhere. Just indulge me on this one, okay? **

**Here's the summary: Luka is suffering at the hands of his cruel stepfather and stepbrother, Bob Roth and XY. He can't play his guitar for his own happiness unless they're out of the house, and the two men are constantly ripping off Luka's music. And when Miraculous Melodies is looking for new talent and is holding a gala function as a platform, Luka feels it's his chance to make a name for himself without his "family" getting in the way. But he won't be able to do it alone. It's gonna take some magic and a talking snake creature to help get the job done. **

**Sound familiar? I'm sure it does! How does putting Luka in a Cinderella Story sound to everyone? It sounds like fun to me! Gonna reference the original 1950 Disney film, including taking one of the songs and modifying it, _and_ making a reference or two to the 1996 anime "Cinderella Monogatari!"**

**This is also a story to celebrate an accomplishment of mine here on the site: my very first Lukanette story "Swooning to the Music," which I posted last year, has hit _300 _favorites! I want to thank everyone who put this on their favorite list!**

**Now let's get started!**

* * *

_"Once upon a time... Or rather, in today's time in Paris, France, lived a talented young boy with eyes blue as the heavens and matching hair named Luka Couffaine. He lived on a boat called the Liberty on the Seine with his widowed mother, Anarka, and his little sister, Juleka..."_

_The two-year old Luka was playing a tiny guitar, along with baby Juleka, who was also on a bass guitar. _

_Anarka, a woman with blue eyes, glasses, and long gray hair in a braid was watching them, happy with the chaotic music they were creating. Their music was getting better with time. _

_"But their mother, Anarka, felt that they needed a father figure in their life."_

_Five years ahead, and Luka was holding hands with Juleka while watching his mom warily. She was holding hands with a man wearing a white and pink suit, had lime-green eyes, and balding but with a white mustache. Next to him was a young man who was definitely few years older than Luka, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and was wearing purple and an "XY" necklace._

_"Along came Bob Roth, an influential music producer, who had a son a few years older than Luka, Xavier-Yves." _

_Luka could've sworn that he saw Bob Roth smirking wickedly. And it didn't seem like the son was too friendly, either. He was looking at his new siblings with a condescending smile. _

_Luka stepped back a bit, hiding Juleka behind him. _

_The family had dinners together, played music, and spoke like a good family did. Bob Roth seemed to be amicable with the kids, but Luka's instincts were telling him otherwise. _

_"The group lived in somewhat organized chaos for the next six years. Luka tried to be kind to his stepfather and stepbrother, with some success. But..."_

_The family was at the cemetery, grieving over Anarka. Juleka and Luka were wearing black clothes, standing over the grave, trying to hold back tears. But Roth and XY weren't that sympathetic. In fact, they seemed happy that Anarka was dead. _

_"When Anarka passed away, this was when Bob Roth and XY showed their true colors." _

_A signature on a contract was written, and Bob Roth shook hands with someone. The man took the boat as Luka and Juleka looked on sadly. _

_The Couffaine siblings were then thrown into a dinky linen closet in a large, luxurious house in the middle of the city. Bob Roth imposed some new rules, including what music they could play and when, forced them to do most of the chores, and they weren't allowed out of the house aside from school and other tasks that Bob Roth placed on them._

_"Bob Roth sold the boat, and then forced Luka and Juleka into servant roles, making their lives miserable while catering to his and XY's whims."_

_Later, Luka and Juleka were packing suitcases and whispering to each other. _

_"Luka and Juleka tried to escape, with plans to move in with Juleka's girlfriend, Rose Lavillant, and her family." _

_They were about to leave out the door in the middle of the night. Juleka, being the quiet girl she was, slipped out of the house without a peep. Luka was about to follow, but the lights came on, and Bob Roth grabbed him by the arm. _

_"Juleka got away, but Luka wasn't so fortunate. Bob Roth caught him, and that's when Luka heard the ugliest tune in the world. He realized that Roth was much worse than greedy. He was greedy, unscrupulous, cowardly, and bitterly jealous of the siblings' musical talent and creativity."_

_Bob Roth sneered at Luka before handing him a guitar, and ordered him to play some music. He was then shoved into the bedroom. _

_"Roth had every intention to make Luka's life miserable while making as much money as he could by ripping off Luka's music and passing it off as the original music of his own untalented son." _

* * *

_Four Years Later..._

Luka was riding his bike, carrying food delivery bags and boxes on the bike's basket. He was looking at the list of delivery locations and items he had so he wouldn't get them mixed up.

He pulled up to an apartment, then parked his bike while using the kickstand. He picked up the bag with the company logo on it, then he went up to the door, and rang the bell.

"Delivery!" Luka said as the customer came to the door.

"Thank you!" He said as he took the food and paid the fee for Luka.

"Enjoy." Luka said before turning back.

"Hang on, don't forget your tip!" The customer said as he tossed a €5 coin to him.

"Thank you." Luka said as he pocketed the money, got back on his bike, and kept riding.

He got into traffic, then he looked up to one of the many TV screens around Paris. He saw his stepbrother, DJ XY scratching the records, playing a song. And once he finished, everyone at the station and the spectators out in the streets were clapping.

Seeing this, Luka gave an unpleasant, sour look to the screen. He held back a growl before looking at his phone to see where his next delivery was. He then went back to biking down the street.

Each stop was kind and polite to him (granted there was the occasional entitled customer that got snippy with him), and gave him a fairly large tip. Luka took each one with gratitude and made sure to pocket the tip and keep it out of sight.

"Enjoy your food!" Luka said as he biked away from his last delivery.

As he started making his way home, he heard shouting and other sounds coming from nearby.

He looked to the side and saw some younger boys shouting and hitting something. He pulled over and put the kickstand up. He dismounted the bike and he walked over for a closer look.

His eyes widened when he saw what they were doing. The boys were throwing rocks at a snake.

_"HEY!" _Luka shouted as he rushed over and pushed the boys away from the snake. "Don't do that! That's cruelty to animals! Do you have any idea what you could have done to that poor thing?!"

"But snakes are evil! That's what my mommy-" One of the boys began.

"That's no excuse to hurt an innocent snake!" Luka sternly spoke as he knelt down and held his arm out to the snake. "Sure, some snake species are dangerous, and _yes_, some cultures see them as evil, but snakes play an important role in both nature _and_ culture."

The snake wrapped itself around his arm and Luka stood up.

"It doesn't matter what kind of animal it is," Luka said to the boys. "Leave them alone and they'll do the same to you. Now I hope you've learned your lesson here."

Luka walked closer to the grass, but he examined the snake. It didn't look like any snake he'd ever seen. It had the markings of an eastern diamondback rattlesnake, but at the same time it had a hood like a cobra. And to add to the confusion, it was a sea green color as opposed to any other forest or emerald greens, browns, or yellows that would normally color the reptile.

The snake seemed docile, whatever species it was. Luka made his way to the bush, knelt down, and put his arm down near the roots.

"There you go, go on your way." Luka said as the snake slithered off his arm and into the brush.

Luka stood back up, then heard his phone going off. He picked it up and held back a groan. He ran back to his bike.

But the snake was watching him from the bush...

Back at their house, Bob Roth and XY were discussing future events for exposure for the latter's career.

"Let's talk about the special TV appearance you're doing," Roth started. "This will be a good boost for your career, and you may even put Jagged Stone to shame. Today's performance was good, but we need to take it to the next level so we can make the most money possible!"

XY let out a haughty laugh and said, "Shall we get the brat to churn out more tunes?"

"Yeah, taking his music and passing it off as your own is the best idea I've ever come up with." Roth laughed.

"Dad, it was _my_ idea to rip off the blueberry head." XY griped.

"Speaking of Luka, where the hell _is_ he?" Roth asked. "He should've been back a long time ago."

The door opened and Luka shouted out, "I'm home!"

Roth slammed his hand on the table before standing up and saying, "Where the hell have you been?!"

Luka came into the living room, glared at his "family," and said, "I had more deliveries than usual today, Roth."

"I don't care how busy you were," Roth ranted. "Get your guitar and get playing!"

Luka growled, resisting the urge to yell, and said, "Whatever."

He trudged back to his bedroom, slammed the door, locked it, and took out his guitar from its case. He sat on the bed and sighed sadly. Letting his mood be the inspiration, Luka played sad, melancholy music on his guitar. Every time he plucked the strings, somber tones flowed out. As he relaxed, the tempo sped up a little, but it still gave the impression of a sad song.

Just as his mood improved and he was beginning to forget his situation...

_*BANG BANG*_

Luka jumped out of his skin a little bit with a shout, and Roth barked, "No more sob-story sounds, brat! You've played more than enough of that crap already!"

Luka sighed angrily. His temper was about to be lost again, but instead of yelling back, he started playing a more aggressive, angry tone. The tempo was faster than previously, (or more accurately, the tempo was at prestissimo), the melody started shifting from conjunct to disjunct and back again, the harmony started from simple duple to compound triple. The texture was still monophonic, but the dynamics of the music was at fortissimo. It wasn't rock music, or even pop. In fact, the music was bordering on heavy metal.

_***BANG!***_

"We can't make money off of that heavy metal noise, either!" Roth snapped.

"Then what do you want?" Luka shouted.

"It doesn't matter, so long as it's fresh!" Roth griped. "Now listen, XY and I are going to be going out for another TV interview at the station! You'd better have something worthwhile for us when we get back!"

Luka grumbled before putting his guitar down. He laid on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. His phone beeped, and Luka took it out to see a text from Juleka.

_'How are you holding up?' - Juleka_

Luka smiled and texted his sister back, _'Not gonna lie, it's still pretty shitty here. But I'm saving money and keeping it out of Roth's line of sight.'_

_'Could you try and get here sooner rather than later? Rose and I are getting worried. We know they're still ripping your music off.' - Juleka_

Luka replied with, _'I promise I will. I just need to figure out _how_.'_

Juleka texted back some encouraging words, and Luka chuckled. He sat up and went back to playing his guitar. This time the dynamics were somewhere between mezzo-forte and mezzo-piano, with a fully conjunct melody, the key was major, but still monophonic in texture with a simple quadruple harmony with a allegretto tempo.

Further out into the city, there was a taller building with a huge sign that said, "Miraculous Melodies" on it, and the owners of the company were on the top floor.

"Sabine, we need to do something!" One of the owners said to his wife. He was a taller man with brown hair, a mustache, green eyes, and was pretty burly.

His wife was a small, Chinese woman with grey eyes, short, dark blue hair, and wearing a white cheongsam.

"I agree, Tom," Sabine said. "Sales are flatlining. We need to bring in some new talent."

"Yes, it's just been the same old thing over and over again with the people we currently have," Tom said as he put the files he was holding down on the counter. "It's getting old and stale."

"We could hold an audition." Sabine suggested.

"That's an idea..." Tom began.

"We should have a few parameters. Originality to start with. We don't want people mimicking what's already out there." Sabine commented.

"I agree." Tom said.

The twosome heard girlish laughter outside in the hallways and footsteps were coming closer to the door.

"Mom, dad?" A voice said, and in came their daughter, Marinette.

She was a young lady who resembled her mother, with midnight hair in pigtails, fair skin framing baby blue eyes, and wearing homemade clothes. Next to her was another girl her age, with darker skin, a beauty mark, hazel eyes framed by glasses and dark red hair.

"Marinette, Alya, how are you girls doing?" Sabine questioned.

"We're doing great, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng," Alya said. "Marinette and I were just going to go out fabric shopping."

"Did Jagged ask for another commission, Marinette?" Tom asked.

"Oh yes," Marinette confirmed. "It isn't just him, though. Several of the other artists are looking for new costumes, too."

"It's gonna be a regular old costume ball at this rate." Alya laughed.

"A ball! That's it!" Tom said. "Marinette, you just gave me a great idea! We'll throw a ball!"

"Hey, a party sounds like fun!" Alya agreed.

"What for, dad?" Marinette asked.

"We're trying to find a way to bring in new talent. We thought about having an audition with people sending in their videos, but a ball would be even better!" Tom said. "We'll have it at Le Grand Paris and we'll leave it open for musicians and bands to come and go!"

"Are you sure about that, Mr. Dupain?" Alya asked.

"Of course I'm sure!" Tom insisted. "You girls go do your shopping! Sabine and I can take care of everything else. We'll arrange everything for tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow? Isn't that a bit too soon?" Marinette questioned.

"Marinette's right," Alya said. "That's too short notice."

"Then you'd better get going so you can hurry up and make ballgowns for the party!" Tom insisted, ushering the girls out the door.

"Okay!" Marinette said as she and Alya left to go out fabric shopping.

Once the parents were alone, Tom smiled while Sabine crossed her arms and looked at him suspiciously.

"What's the matter, honey?" Tom asked.

"I think the ball is a wonderful idea, Tom, but... Why do I get the feeling you have _some _ulterior motives?" Sabine asked.

"Don't you think Marinette needs to meet other people?" Tom asked. "Her group of friends is great, but I think that this would be a good chance of helping Marinette get a boyfriend."

"Tom! Like always, you're getting ahead of yourself!" Sabine scolded. "You and I both know that matters of love are complicated! We shouldn't meddle!"

"Maybe so, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Besides, if any of the eligible bachelors are in attendance, one of them is sure to catch our daughter's eye!" Tom argued.

"But Tom, what if Marinette doesn't want that?" Sabine questioned.

"Then we respect that." Tom said simply as he started writing up a social media invitation for the ball as well as a few paper invitations to send to other producers from other companies.

Sabine sighed with a patient smile.

With Marinette, she and Alya were walking to the fabric store, talking about the turn of events.

"So, we're having a ball tomorrow night at Chloé's," Alya laughed. "She'll hate _that_."

"Yeah," Marinette said. "The fact that I'm the owners' daughter makes her back off, but I _know_ she hates me."

"At least we can easily ban her and her parents from the party, especially since _we'll_ be the ones mingling with both veteran _and_ up-and-coming music stars instead of her." Alya said.

"Definitely," Marinette laughed before taking out her sketchbook. "And I have just the designs for our dresses."

"I knew you'd be on it!" Alya said. "And I'm on hand as your helper."

"Thanks, Alya." Marinette said.

The huge TV screen out in the street was showing pictures of Gabriel Agreste's newest ad campaign, featuring couples in love for a heart-shaped necklace. She then looked around at real-life couples with that exact same necklace.

Marinette heaved a sigh before saying, "Lucky them..."

"Don't worry, Marinette. The right man will come along soon enough." Alya reassured.

"Easy for you to say. You have Nino." Marinette stated sadly.

Alya gave Marinette a sympathetic smile and held her shoulder as the pair kept going to the fabric store.

* * *

A few hours had passed. Back at the Roth house, father and biological son were upstairs, working on a new song. The younger man was on his turntable and scratching the records and remixing the song. Or rather, he was taking Luka's music and mixing it on the records.

Speaking of the young guitarist, Luka felt safer now that his "family" was preoccupied with their work. But even though they weren't paying him any attention, that didn't mean they were leaving him alone completely. They saddled him with all of the household chores, which he'd do without complaint whenever he wasn't being forced to play music, out on deliveries, or at school.

And so, Luka was mopping the floor like it wasn't such a big deal.

He heard the doorbell ring. Luka put the mop down, jogged to the door, then pressed the intercom button, saying, "Who is it?"

_"I have a delivery for the Roth household!"_ The mail carrier said.

"Okay," Luka said as he opened the door and took the letter. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome. Have a nice day." He said before leaving.

Luka looked at the envelope and saw it was addressed to the entire family. He opened it up, then looked at the letter. He smiled when he saw what it was.

He jogged upstairs to go and inform Bob and XY.

Inside the room, XY was singing off-key and scratching the records awfully.

Luka knocked on the door, then opened it and said, "Roth!"

Roth slammed his hand against the table, stood up, and said, "Luka! I told you not to bother us whenever we're working on our music!"

"More like ripping _my_ music off," Luka muttered before saying, "Sorry, but I thought you'd wanna see this."

Luka handed the invite to his stepdad. Roth looked it over and said, "Miraculous Melodies is holding a ball to find new musicians?! And eligible bachelors are welcome guests? This is perfect! We can get more exposure for you, son!"

"When is it?" Luka asked.

"Tomorrow night." XY said as he read over the invite.

There was a huge beep on their phones, and Bob Roth took his phone out. He found there was an alert on several of the "Miraculous Melodies" social media pages.

"And they sent the word out on social media, too!" Roth exclaimed.

"This is perfect! Now I can share my music with everyone." Luka said.

"What? _You?_" XY scoffed with an amused smirk. "Why would _you_ go?"

"The invite states that everyone who wants to become a musician is allowed to come and go. This is an open audition for everyone as well as a party, and the invite stated "eligible bachelors are welcome guests." And I'm certainly one." Luka explained.

"Yeah, like _you_ would be welcome there!" XY sarcastically chortled before taking up one of the brooms and pretending to be Luka. _"Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, please hold my guitar while I grovel for your daughter's attention!" _

The men laughed, meanwhile Luka crossed his arms.

"I don't care what you think about me," Luka said. "I'm asking to go to the party. I've got the night off from my deliveries tomorrow and I could use a night of fun for myself. I have the right to that, don't I?"

Roth smiled, then said, "I don't see why not. If you finish all your chores, find something good to wear, _and_ have an instrument to play, you can."

Luka smiled, then said, "Thank you so much! I'll get started on them right now!"

He dashed back out of the room and shut the door.

"Dad, do you have any idea what you just said?!" XY asked.

"Yep. I said _if_ he did. And we'll make sure it's a _big_ if." Roth explained.

XY smiled wickedly, understanding his father's plan.

* * *

The next day, Marinette was at in her room, working on the commissions she had _and_ the dresses for the party. Alya was there, too, holding the fabrics Marinette needed for the projects.

"Alya, can you lay down the rose silk on the floor?" Marinette asked as she took out the patterns she made for the dress.

"Got it, girl." Alya said as she rolled out the pink fabric onto the floor for Marinette.

"Thanks." Marinette said as she got down on her hands and knees and started tracing the patterns onto the fabric.

"You sure you'll be able to finish these in time?" Alya asked.

"I know I will since you're here to help me out," Marinette said as she took out her fabric scissors to cut the pieces. "Besides, it's early in the day. We've got time before the party tonight."

"If you say so, girl," Alya said with a laugh. "Make sure I look nothing short of foxy tonight in my dress!"

"Count on it." Marinette laughed back as she took one of the pieces up onto the mannequin and started sewing it in place.

"I wonder what kind of musicians will show up at the party tonight?" Alya asked aloud.

"Who knows?" Marinette questioned as she got back to work.

But her eyes wandered out the window to the advertisement she and Alya were looking at yesterday. She saw the happy couples up on the board and she heaved a sad sigh.

"...Still feeling down?" Alya asked.

"Yeah," Marinette confirmed. "I'm jealous. I want to have a romance like you and Nino, or even my parents. But boys either only express interest in me to get to my parents or end up finding someone else more attractive than me."

"Like I said before, the right guy will come along soon enough. Besides, those gold-digging social climbers don't get anywhere with your folks anyway. They're good at separating the wheat from the chaff." Alya assured.

"Maybe I'll get lucky and find the perfect guy tonight." Marinette said, still doubtful of the outcome.

Back with Luka, was in the living room of the house, sweeping the floor. He had Juleka on speaker on his phone.

_'Seriously... They're_ actually_ letting you go?' _Juleka asked over the phone.

"As long as my chores are done, I have my guitar, and I have something to wear." Luka explained.

_'Luka, Roth and XY are untrustworthy. What makes you think they'll stick to their word?' _Juleka questioned. _'They'll probably dump more chores on you as the day goes on.'_

"Don't worry, I'm planning for that," Luka said, his tone turning stern. "That's why I woke up a few hours earlier than usual and got a head start."

_'What about clothes?' _Juleka asked. _'I don't think I've ever seen you in a suit.' _

"I found one of our father's old suits down in the basement. I can just update it with a few embellishments," Luka said, but then he heard footsteps from upstairs. "Someone's coming. Gotta go."

_'I'll sign off, then. Let me know how it goes.' _Juleka said before hanging up.

Luka quickly put on his Spotify playlist that had several of Jagged Stone's songs on it.

"When you're done sweeping, get to the laundry." Roth barked out as he came in.

"I already have a load going." Luka confirmed.

"Well, start _another_ one when you turn this load over to the dryer," Roth sneered. "There's a huge pile of clothes in a basket in my room."

Luka rolled his eyes with a sigh.

"I still have the rest the chores to do..." Luka began to protest, but...

"Then stop stalling and get back to work, brat!" Roth snapped before leaving the living room. "Once the laundry's done, clean the kitchen from the bottom-up and top-down and all over again!"

Luka sighed angrily.

Back with Juleka, she put her phone down. Rose had brought in some unicorn cookies she made and put it down on the coffee table.

"How's Luka doing?" Rose asked.

"...He claimed he'll be going to the ball tonight, but..." Juleka began.

"That's great!" Rose exclaimed.

"Just one problem. The conditions are that he has to get his chores done, have an instrument to play, _and_ something nice to wear. He says he has all that covered." Juleka started.

"Then what's the big deal?" Rose questioned again.

"Knowing those men, they'll do everything they can to make sure he won't." Juleka confirmed.

Realizing what her girlfriend meant, Rose sighed and said, "Poor Luka... Every time he gets to breathe, that so-called "stepfamily" of yours starts it up again! "Luka this," "Luka that," all the time, never giving him a break."

Juleka gave a nod.

_"Luka, Luka, Luka, Luka, night and day it's always Luka! Make our dinner, play more music, clean the kitchen, start the mopping." _Rose sang.

_"And the sweeping and the dusting. They always keep him hopping."_ Juleka adding, singing.

_"They rile him up so much, his temper's hotter than shakshouka," _Rose continued in song. _"Still, they holler."_

_"Keep the music going Luka!" _Juleka finished.

Juleka sighed sadly before saying, "Luka's not gonna be able to go to the ball."

"Why would you say that, Juleka?!" Rose said, ever the romantic optimist.

"Like I said earlier: Roth and XY are gonna make it so Luka can't. With all of the chores they'll dump on him, he'll never get his suit finished." Juleka elaborated.

Rose sighed sadly, but her hand brushed over a picture of a men's suit with a few sewing tips in a magazine.

"Hey! Why don't _we_ do it?" Rose suggested.

Juleka gave Rose a questioning look.

_"We can do it, we can do it! We can help your precious brother!" _Rose sang as she picked up the magazine. _"We can make his suit so pretty! There's nothing to it, really!" _

Juleka was doubtful, but she listened.

_"We'll add a necktie to it! A __boutonnière will do it!" _Rose sang as she started gathering sewing supplies and putting it in a bag. _"When dancing at the ball, he'll be more handsome than them all, in the epic suit that we'll make for your brother!"_

Juleka smiled, getting on board with the idea.

Rose took the bag up, grabbed Juleka's arm and pulled her off the couch.

_"Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, gotta help your precious brother!" _Rose sang. _"Got no time to dilly-dally, we gotta get a-going!" _

Juleka took out another sewing kit and looked it over to find a few things.

_"Don't forget the scissors! We're gonna do the sewing!" _Rose sang, but then realized something. _"There's no sewing without ribbon! We need to get some trimming! And we'll make an epic suit for your dear brother!" _

Juleka took up some teal fabrics and ribbons that she had lying around and wanted to add to their arsenal.

_"Time to make an epic suit for your dear brother!" _Rose trilled as she dragged Juleka out of the house to go back to the Roth house.

About an hour later, Luka watched as Bob Roth and XY left the house, saddling him with more chores to do, including making lunch _and_ cleaning the kitchen top-to-bottom once he was done.

Juleka and Rose were hiding nearby. Rose saw this building as a warzone that she had to break in to, while Juleka looked at it as the prison she was going to break in to.

"Coast is clear. Come on!" Rose said before she and Juleka ran back to the front door.

Luka shut the door and went back into the kitchen. He sighed in relief before picking the broom back up.

"Good, they're gone. Now I can get some peace and quiet for a little while." Luka said.

But the doorbell rang. He went to the intercom and pressed the button, saying, "Hello. Roth residence?"

_"Hi, Luka!" _Rose's bubbly voice said from outside.

"Rose?!" Luka asked, surprised.

_"Yep! Juleka's here, too!"_ Rose confirmed.

Luka opened the door and saw his sister and her girlfriend standing there with bags of supplies. He ushered the girls inside and hastily asked, "What are you two doing here?!"

"We're here to help!" Rose said. "Roth and XY said you needed to get your chores done, you needed your guitar, _and_ you had to have something nice to wear. But they never said you couldn't get help!"

"We'll handle the suit. We'll jump in on the chores when we're done." Juleka said.

Luka smiled, touched by this gesture. He said, "Thanks. I could really use the help. Let's get to it."

Luka got back to sweeping the floor while Juleka and Rose went to Luka's room. They took out the old suit from its bag, and it revealed to be navy blue in color, but it was little out of date in terms of style. The suit was missing a bowtie and it looked fairly worn out in spite of the preservation. It wasn't anything a little tweaking and repairing wouldn't be able to fix, though.

The girls took out their tools, then started sewing, snipping, and stitching the entire suit, every inch.

A little bit of time passed and Rose sent Juleka out to help Luka with the chores. He was now scrubbing the sink, but he hadn't finished mopping the floor. He sighed and wiped his forehead. Juleka took the mop up and started mopping.

Luka smiled at his sister and the two of them went back to cleaning the kitchen, just like old times.

The trio cleaned the entire house, did every chore imaginable, and did things that they thought Bob Roth would make up, just in case.

"Whew... That was a lot of work," Luka said as he slumped into the couch. "I wonder what time it is?"

When he looked at his phone and saw the clock, he said, "Rose, Juleka, you might want to hurry up and make yourselves scarce. Roth and XY should be back in about twenty minutes."

"Then it's a good thing we're finished!" Rose said as she and Juleka came out of Luka's room. They presented his suit to him.

Luka was amazed at the job they did. He smiled and said, "This is the best, girls. Thank you so much!"

"Don't mention it, Luka," Rose said. "Just be sure to pack your bags and escape at the next chance you get!"

Luka hugged the girls before taking the suit in hand.

"We'd better get going," Juleka murmured. "Let us know how it goes, Luka."

Luka gave them a nod. Rose and Juleka took the stuff they brought and ducked out of the house.

Meanwhile, Luka went to go and change into his revamped suit.

* * *

**Okay, first chapter of this Lukanette Cinderella story is DONE! I'm sure I don't have to explain the plot of the rest of the story, especially not what's gonna happen in the next chapter. And I wanted to give Luka more of a backbone in his situation and making plans to get out of it. As we've seen in "Silencer," Luka is one person you do _NOT_ wanna piss off. Otherwise, he might as well be Ursula the Sea Witch. **

**Now, let's set a review goal before we see the next chapter. May I please have a minimum of 5 reviews before I post again?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, time for the second chapter of the story! **

**Like I said in the last chapter, there's no need for me to summarize what's going on, but we can count on some Sad!Luka here! Alright, time to hit the play button! **

* * *

XY and Roth came back to the house, expecting to see Luka still working in the kitchen, but they were surprised to see the entire house spotless.

"What the-?!" Roth spluttered. "How'd he-?"

"I'm ready." Luka said as he came out of his room with his guitar and in his suit.

It was navy blue with a teal dress shirt and a matching handkerchief in his pocket. The bow tie he was wearing was also navy blue, the shoes he was wearing were black, and he had a faux white rose boutonnière in his vest. The suit had blue stitching and the cufflinks were teal music notes. Luka had combed his hair back.

"How did you-?!" XY began.

"Doesn't matter," Luka said with a shrug. "The point is, I have my guitar, my suit, and all my chores are done."

"I can't deny you look good in that getup," Roth said, approaching Luka. "Where'd you get it?"

"It was my father's." Luka explained, a little cautious.

"But you still can't go to the ball." XY began as he angrily charged at Luka.

"And why not?" Luka said.

XY grabbed Luka's guitar out of his hand then held it by the neck over his head.

_"NO!" _Luka shouted.

XY smashed Luka's guitar onto the ground in front of his very eyes. XY had a manic, twisted smile on his face as he kept smashing the guitar on the floor, Luka pleading for him to stop. But his begging fell on deaf ears.

"Oops," XY said mockingly as he held the broken instrument like it was nothing, taunting Luka. He then dropped it onto the ground. "No more guitar."

"No!" Luka shouted as he fell to his knees.

"There you go. Now you can't go to the ball. You're staying here," Bob said as he ushered his son outside. "Have a nice evening _alone_."

The two men cruelly laughed as they left the house, leaving Luka in the one light in the house.

They got into a taxi to go to Le Grand Paris. As the car left, what they didn't notice was the snake from the day before was hiding. But the idiots left the door open, and the snake slithered inside.

Luka had retreated to his room, stewing in his rage and sadness, bitterly looking at the guitar his "brother" wrecked. It was his only one, too, and he couldn't afford to buy another until several months, if not _years_ later.

"I can't take it anymore," Luka sighed angrily, hot tears streaming down his face. "I thought tonight would be the night I could make my dreams come true. Make a name for myself and get out of this... this... _hellhole!_ Then join Juleka with Rose's family. Is it so wrong to ask for justice?!"

"No, it isn't, and I promise you you'll get out of here." A voice said.

"Huh?! Who said that?!" Luka asked, looking around frantically.

"I did. Down here." The same voice said. Luka looked down and saw the same snake that he helped out.

"Okay, I must be going crazy," Luka said with a frustrated sigh. "I recognize you. You're that snake I saved from those kids the other day. But there's no way it was _you_ talking."

"You're sane, and I _was_ the one talking to you." The snake repeated, before glowing in cyan. The tail receded, he shrunk down to size, and started floating in the air.

The glowing stopped and the snakes still had its tail, but it also had arms and legs, a hood, and facial features.

"Greetings, Luka," He said. "I'm Sass, your kwami."

"My what?" Luka questioned.

"Your kwami," Sass repeated. "Think of me as your fairy god-guardian."

"Okay..." Luka began, still a bit confused. "So... How are you going to help me get out of here and to the party?"

"I'll explain everything as we go along. But first things first: do you have the bangle?" Sass started.

"Bangle?" Luka questioned, lifting a brow. "What bangle?"

"Your father's bangle," Sass elaborated. "You're going to need it."

The scene transitioned to another door in the house. Luka opened the door to reveal a staircase going down.

"It should be down here," Luka said as he led Sass down the stairs into the basement. "When my mom married Roth, my gut told me to hide most of my father's things, especially anything relating to music."

Once he got to the bottom the stairs, Luka turned on the lights to reveal the disaster-area of a basement.

Luka saw the surprised look on Sass's face, then said, "Yeah, organized chaos at best. Now if I remember right..."

Luka walked around the room, but he noticed something out of his peripheral vision.

Nestled between a lot of messy boxes was a small, octagonal box with a distinctive red symbol on it.

"In there." Sass said.

Luka shoved several of the other boxes aside and picked up the octagonal one. Luka gently opened the lid and there was a simple, black bangle. He picked it up and then it turned silver.

"Here it is," Luka said as he slipped the bangle on his wrist. "My father's bangle. How is this going to help?"

"This isn't just any bangle, Luka," Sass began. "This is a magical piece of jewelry known as a Miraculous. The snake's power is Second Chance, which allows you to go back in time five minutes from a point you mark down. We kwamis are connected to these magical jewels, enabling the owners to transform into superheroes, but we need to be kept secret for the greater good."

Luka looked at the bangle and back to Sass. He asked, "A superhero, huh? Did my father...?"

"Indeed. Your father was my previous owner. He knew he had to keep the Miraculous a secret, and when he learned he wouldn't live long enough to see you and Juleka grow, he left this bangle behind to give to you when the time came," Sass continued. "Once you transform, your suit will keep people from recognizing you."

"Like glamour or something?" Luka asked.

"Exactly," Sass confirmed. "I won't be able to communicate with you while transformed, but I'll be able to see and hear everything you're doing. All you have to say to transform is, "Sass, scales slither." Understand?"

"Okay," Luka said as he took a deep breath. _"Sass, scales slither!"_

In a flash, he was now in a dark cyan suit with a lighter shade and snake-like texture on the underbelly, and he had a mask that covered the top half of his face that looked just like the face of a snake. His eyes were now green as opposed to his usual blue and his hair was now matching his suit. In his hands was a lyre of a matching design.

He looked in a nearby mirror and saw himself through the light layer of dust on it.

"Wow..." Luka said as he admired himself. "No one will recognize me like this. Now I can go to the party without Bob Roth and XY getting in my way."

He ran up the stairs to leave the house.

* * *

At Le Grand Paris, the attendees were innumerable and were all vying for a chance to show of their musical talent and skills in front of Miraculous Melodies' owners.

Out on the dance floor was Marinette, who was in attendance with Alya. They were both in fancier dresses that Marinette designed herself. Alya was in orange, while Marinette had pink. They were both almost floor-length, too, and had sashes in darker shades of their colors. Both girls had their hair down, but Marinette added some glittery hair gel to her style while she curled Alya's.

"Don't worry, girl. I know your folks will find some great musicians and singers amongst these guests." Alya assured.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't be surprised if my dad was trying to set me up with someone here as a secondary goal. I've been getting "matchmaker" vibes from him most of the evening." Marinette worried aloud.

"You're probably right about your dad, girl," Alya admitted before looking at the rest of the attendees. "I'm seeing mostly boys here."

"Yeah, and between you and me, I'm a little worried that most of them are only trying to get to my parents through me, anyway." Marinette admitted sadly.

"Come on, girl, I seriously doubt _every _bachelor here is going to sink that low," Alya stated. "Maybe a handful, but certainly not _all_ of them. Besides, some of the men here probably just want to have fun, socialize with some of the others around here, and play some music anyway. Nino, for starters. Why do you think your parents hired him as the DJ?"

"You have a point." Marinette said, trying to restrain a sad sigh.

But her concerns weren't unfounded. In fact, a prime example of men with ulterior motives was nearby. Bob and XY were standing next to the refreshment table, with Bob giving his son a pep talk.

"Okay, kid," Bob said as he was adjusting his son's tie and hair. "All you gotta do is charm the owners' brat daughter and you'll be in! We'll be able to make more money off your singing than ever before! After all, she'll probably be _begging_ mommy and daddy to produce her beau's music."

"Got it, dad," XY said smugly. "Swoon the owners' baby girl, then we'll be rich."

"And there she is right now. Go get her, tiger." Bob said as he turned his son around and pushed so he could approach Marinette.

"Here comes trouble." Alya muttered as she caught sight of XY.

"Hello, Mariah," XY said with a conceited laugh and a bow. "You're looking absolutely _delicious_ tonight."

"It's _Marinette_, and I think you mean _delightful._" Marinette said, XY ignored her, then roughly took her hand to place a sopping wet kiss onto it. He was almost snogging it.

Marinette swiped her hand away and wiped it on her dress. Alya shared the disgusted look on her BFF's face.

Bob Roth face-palmed at his son's stupidity, meanwhile XY was blissfully unaware that he wasn't making a good impression. And it didn't seem like Marinette's parents were too happy, either.

"That boy clearly has no manners... Or _humility_ for that matter." Tom grumbled.

"Yeah. I can tell Marinette isn't very comfortable with him," Sabine agreed. "Should we get the security guards to escort them out?"

"Our girl can handle herself. Alya can step in too." Tom stated.

XY put an arm around Marinette's shoulder, and she pulled a disgusted face in response. She tried pushing him away, but he held fast.

Outside, Luka approached the door, making sure his lyre was in plain sight. The guards looked at him curiously before conceding to let him in.

Back inside, though, Marinette was

"Ugh, I'm at the end of my rope," Tom said. "Nobody's music is really sticking out to me. And to make matters worse, none of these gentlemen seem to want our daughter for the right reasons! They're all so rude! Even I can't expect Marinette to..."

The music went dead and everyone was looking towards the entry of the lobby. Tom and Sabine soon followed everyone's line of sight.

Luka had come in. But instead of trying to find a partner to dance with, he was merely looking around, undisturbed by the staring and the eyes on him.

Marinette was one of those girls, and she was almost entranced.

"Girl? You okay?" Alya asked.

"Hey, Maureen!" XY said, snapping his fingers in front of Marinette's face. "Aren't you going to listen to me and my music?!"

Marinette pulled away from XY and started approaching the newcomer. Once XY noticed him, he scoffed at the sight of him.

"Now hold on... Who the hell is _that?!_" XY griped. Bob Roth glared at Luka.

Alya smiled, noticing that the young man had caught Marinette's attention. She crossed her arms, amused.

Luka was surrounded by some of the other girls in attendance. They were all asking for a dance, clamoring to get his attention, but he was trying his best to politely turn them down. Then he noticed Marinette out of his peripheral vision.

The minute he met her eyes, everything and everyone fell away. Their gazes were glued to each other. Luka slowly made his way out of the crowd of girls and started walking towards Marinette.

Marinette started making her way over to him, too. They soon met in the middle.

"Um... Hi," Marinette said, a slight blush on her cheeks. "My name's Ma-Ma... Um, Mama-Marinette."

She covered her mouth and blushed, realizing she'd tripped over her words.

"Hello, Mamamarinette." Luka said, before chuckling. Marinette's face fell a little.

To cheer her up, he took Marinette's hand, lifted it to his lips, and gave it a chaste, dry kiss. He then lifted his head to look Marinette in the eyes. Her face lit up, tinted from pink to red, and she held back a giggle.

Alya and the Dupain-Cheng parents were watching, happy at the turn of events.

"Why, would you look at that?" Tom said, overjoyed. "That young man seems to have gotten Marinette's attention quickly."

"But who is he?" Sabine asked. "I've never seen him before."

"Doesn't matter. So far, he's been acting like a gentleman, and he and Marinette _clearly_ seem to be interested in each other, so I don't see any problems." Alya said, smiling at the scene.

"Now to set the mood. Nino, do you have any waltzes in your mix?" Tom said, then asking Nino - Alya's boyfriend - to change the song.

"Sure do, sir," Nino said with a thumb's up. "Let me switch up the sounds."

He switched out a few of his records and then started scratching. The slow-dance music came on.

"Well, listen to that," Luka said, chuckling. "Looks like a waltz is on. So..."

He held his hand out to Marinette. Marinette blushed and put her hand in his, and then Luka started to escort her to the dance floor.

Everyone made space for them. Tom cued someone to dim the lights.

Luka and Marinette were now in a waltz position, then they started dancing, with their eyes still locked on to each other and oblivious to everything and everyone else.

Marinette and Luka glided across the dance floor with ease.

Alya, Tom, and Sabine were watching with delight, most of the other party-goers were curious about who Luka was, and Bob Roth and XY were glaring at him, though they didn't recognize him.

Luka was giving Marinette a gentle gaze, a smile gracing his face, and his heart feeling warm. Marinette smiled at her dance partner, then snuggled up closer to him. He didn't object. In fact, he chuckled and hugged her closer to him.

Marinette, blushing, said, "So... I don't think I've ever seen you around. What's your name?"

"Lu-" Luka began, but he paused, his gut telling him to come up with an alias. "Viperion. Call me Viperion."

"Viperion..." Marinette said, letting it roll of the tongue. "So, what instrument do you play? Or are you a singer?"

"I'm mostly into string instruments," Viperion answered. "The guitar and the lyre in particular."

"The lyre? That's unusual," Marinette replied. "I'll bet you're really good."

"I'm more than happy to play you some music." Viperion answered.

"I... I'd like that." Marinette said.

They stopped dancing, and he took his lyre out. Tom cued Nino to cut the music so their guest could play some of his own.

"Please," Sabine said from her spot. "Play for us."

Viperion gave a nod before holding the lyre up. He started strumming the strings like he'd been doing it his whole life. The music told the story of a young man trying to get out of a bad situation, and the joy of the triumph that he achieved as of recent... And if one really thought of it, the last part of the song could have been interpreted as a love song. Marinette was all but swooning over it, and she was blushing heavily as her eyes were glued to him. Everyone in the room was enraptured by the music, all very impressed with him.

Bob Roth and XY on the other hand... not so much.

"Ugh, who _is_ that guy?" XY griped.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go and find out!" Bob Roth shouted as he shoved his son back out into the crowd.

XY started to slowly make his way over to the couple to investigate Viperion, but he and Marinette were too focused on each other. Viperion was still playing his instrument while keeping his eyes on Marinette.

"That's amazing." Marinette said, clapping as Viperion wrapped up his playing. Everyone else started applauding him, too.

"Thank you." Viperion said before taking a subtle bow in front of Marinette.

"I don't think Miraculous Melodies has any lyre players," Tom whispered to Sabine. "And he's very talented."

"Agreed. Once we get a moment, we can offer him a deal." Sabine agreed.

Viperion's eyes were still stuck on Marinette, and hers were still on him. They were clearly too distracted by each other to focus on anything else. Nino resumed the music.

Viperion held took Marinette's hand once more, then they started dancing once more.

"You're a very talented musician, Viperion." Marinette complimented.

"Thank you," Viperion thanked. "And you're a very graceful dancer."

Marinette blushed again, trying her best not to loose a giggle. She failed, but Viperion chuckled in response.

"...I can take you out onto one of the patios and you can play some more for me out there." Marinette suggested as the two of them stopped.

"Great idea." Viperion agreed, offering his arm.

Marinette took it, and then the couple started walking off the dance floor to go to one of the outdoor areas. Again, their eyes stayed on each other. XY made to follow them.

Tom noticed that one of the guests was about to stir up trouble, then told Alya, "Alya, go make sure no one disturbs Marinette and that young man, and report back _anything_ that happens."

"Got it, Mr. Dupain." Alya said as she dashed off to make sure Marinette and Luka were alone.

Marinette and Viperion went out to one of the patios, but XY was on their tail. As he approached the door, Alya pulled the curtains closed to block the DJ.

"Hey, what gives?" XY asked.

Alya shot him a dirty glare, then said, "I'm under orders to make sure those two aren't disturbed! And _you_, sir, are not welcome in Marinette's space. You're lucky the hosts of this party didn't kick you and your dad out of this event!"

She shoved XY back to the main party room, then went back to standing guard at the door.

"What'd you find out?" Bob asked as he caught his son.

"Nothing," XY said. "The brat's gal-pal shoved me away and told me no one's to bother them."

Bob Roth groaned in frustration.

Outside, Marinette and Viperion were sitting next to each other, the latter playing his lyre while Marinette sat and listened.

"You're really good," Marinette said. "How long have you been playing the lyre?"

"Ju-... I've been playing the guitar since before I could walk, but I only took up the lyre just recently." Viperion admitted.

"I guess your guitar playing carried over to the lyre. It was like you were playing it for years." Marinette commented.

"Thank you." Viperion said before chuckling and playing a few more notes.

Marinette laughed a little, then scooted a little closer to her companion. He didn't seem to mind, as he chuckled in response. He smiled at her before putting his lyre down and gently hugging her shoulder. Marinette didn't object to his touch.

They were looking at each other with loving eyes. The pair started to lean in to each other, their hands got closer, and they were pursing their lips. Their eyes were closing, too.

_*BEEP BEEP*_

They pulled away from each other at the sound.

"What was that?" Marinette asked.

"Probably nothing." Viperion said with a shrug and smile before cupping Marinette's face in his hand. She only gave a nod. They started leaning in again.

_*BEEP BEEP!*_

Viperion realized the sound was coming from his bangle. He looked at it and saw that two of the lights on the snake's tongue had gone out.

Something in his gut told him he had to get out of there. Like _last week_.

"Listen, Marinette. I had a great time tonight, but I need to get going." Viperion said as he stood up.

"Wait, what? You only just..." Marinette began, but she looked at her phone. "Wow, it's nearly midnight?!"

_'Midnight?!' _Luka thought. _'I've been here that long?!' _

Immediately, Viperion bolted back inside.

"Wait, hold on! Please, wait!" Marinette shouted as she ran back in after him.

Viperion dashed past Alya, who said, "Hey!"

Marinette came in, then Alya asked, "What happened out there, Marinette?"

"I don't know. All of a sudden he said he had to leave." Marinette confirmed.

"Well, don't just stand here! Go after him, girl!" Alya stated.

Marinette took off running. Viperion ran through the crowd, much to the confusion of everyone else. Marinette was hot on his heels.

Viperion dashed out of the hotel, pivoted on his heel, then ran down the street back to the Roth residence.

_*BEEP BEEP*_

Hearing his bangle going off again, he checked it and saw that another one of the lights had gone off, leaving only two left. He picked up the pace.

"Wait! We didn't exchange information! How are we going to see each other again?" Marinette asked.

Refusing to answer, Viperion kept running, with the goal of finding cover being the priority.

But he was going so fast that he didn't notice a crack in the pavement. He tripped on it, stumbled, then his lyre flew out of his hand and onto the ground behind him.

Whipping his body around to pick it up, he saw Marinette was catching up to him.

_*BEEP BEEP*_

His bangle warning him of something, Viperion's mind went blank for a split-second. Forgetting the instrument, he turned around and went back to running.

He kept going until he was out of Marinette's sight.

Marinette stopped when she saw the lyre at her feet. She bent down, picked it up, and looked it over. Seeing her newfound love had disappeared, her heart sank and tears began poking at her eyes. She hugged it close to her.

Viperion dove behind an opening in a back alley, squeezed himself against the wall, and tried to catch his breath.

_*BEEP BEEP* _

Immediately, Viperion changed back and Sass came out of the bangle. The kwami landed in his hands, tired and hungry.

Luka was still breathing heavily and he said, "That was a close one. Sass, are you okay?"

"Yes, other than hungry," Sass affirmed. "How about you?"

"I'll be fine," Luka confirmed. But he noticed something was wrong and started looking around almost frantically. "Wait, my lyre. Where'd I drop my lyre?"

Sass started looking around to help find it, too.

"I don't see it anywhere," Luka said, before sighing. "Well, it doesn't matter now."

"Did you have a good time tonight?" Sass asked.

Luka sighed in satisfaction.

"Yeah, I did," Luka said aloud. "I just wish it could've lasted longer."

Sass smiled and said, "You deserved a night for yourself. And you were clearly enjoying yourself with Marinette."

"She was the most extraordinary girl," Luka said, almost swooning. "As clear as a musical note, and as sincere as a melody."

"I think you've, as humans say, got it bad." Sass chuckled.

"I know," Luka said as he stood up. "We'll worry about the lyre later. For now, let's get home before Roth and XY do."

Sass dove into Luka's jacket pocket. Luka walked out of the alley and started the journey back home.

Back at the party, Marinette had made her way back into the hotel. Alya caught sight of Marinette's depressed expression, with her eyes on the floor and tears streaming down her face a little bit.

"Marinette!" Alya said, running up to her BFF. "What happened? Did you catch him?"

"No..." Marinette said dejectedly, still trying to hold back tears. "I didn't even get his phone number..."

Alya gave Marinette a sad, worried look and hugged her, saying, "Oh, Marinette..."

"But... There's _some_ hope," Marinette said as she pulled out from Alya's hug and presented the lyre. "He dropped this."

"Viperion's lyre?" Alya questioned. "You think it's a sign?"

"Who knows?" Marinette asked.

Marinette sadly left the hotel ballroom, giving everyone the impression that she wanted to be alone for a little while.

"Poor girl..." Alya said as Tom and Sabine came over to Alya. "She finally finds someone to love, and then he just ups and vanishes..."

* * *

The next morning, Luka had woken up and gotten to his chores as usual. Luckily he had deliveries to do later that afternoon, so he'd be able to get out of the house later and get a break.

He was now out in the dining room, polishing the silver and organizing the flatware. Luckily for him, Sass was helping out. He had a polishing rag in his hands and was also wiping the silverware down.

"Thanks for your help, Sass," Luka said as he put more of the spoons away. "I'm glad you're here."

"It's my pleasure, Luka," Sass spoke. "Anything to help you bear this pain."

"While we're out, we should probably look for the lyre." Luka added.

"Agreed." Sass added.

But when footsteps were heard, the kwami ducked back into hiding. Bob Roth came in, but luckily he was grumbling and griping about Viperion instead of barking orders at Luka.

So Luka kept cleaning, refusing to meet his stepdad's eyes and just going about business as always. It was better than the usual mistreatment.

But his mind wandered to Marinette, the girl who stole his heart the night before. He heaved a wistful sigh, quiet enough for Bob Roth to miss.

Meanwhile, said maiden was sitting in her room, holding the lyre and staring at it. She sighed sadly.

Outside the room, Alya and Tom were watching Marinette mope.

"She's been staring at that lyre since she brought it back last night," Alya stated. "The only time she put it down was breakfast. I've asked her if she wanted to go shopping, hang with the girls, or even play some UMS. But it's like she's off in her own world, and all she's doing is sitting and sighing."

"I think she needs to be alone for a bit." Tom added.

"I don't understand what's so special about a lyre," Alya joked. "Especially if the guy who plays it isn't holding it."

"Alya, where is your romantic side?" Tom scolded. "Everyone could see that Marinette and that young Viperion fellow were enamored with each other last night. Don't make me listen to your sarcasm!"

He then walked away.

"Wait, Mr. Dupain, I was only joking around!" Alya said. "I saw the way Marinette was staring at him. She's in love, there's no doubt about it."

She quickly followed after Tom.

Marinette, still staring at the lyre, sighed sadly before muttering, "Why am I acting like this? I only met him once and yet I'm acting like a lovesick schoolgirl."

She put the lyre down and went online to see if she could find Viperion's address or something. But she searched and searched, but there wasn't a thing about him on the web. There were only a few mentions of him on social media, but not by name.

"Comments include, 'That snake fellow was very well-played on his lyre!' 'I don't think I've ever seen anyone in this day and age play a lyre!' 'He was amazing!' 'This could be the dawn of a new era of lyre-players!' Lyre, huh... Of course! His lyre is the key to finding him!"

Marinette picked up the lyre, took a picture of it with her phone, then took a few selfies of her with the lyre. Since she had the information to log in to the Miraculous Melodies social media accounts, she easily logged in to create a post with the pictures.

She added a caption that read, "I need to find Viperion! He dropped his lyre and I want to return it to him so I can see him again! If anyone has any information about Viperion or know anyone who's savvy enough to play the lyre, let me know!"

She posted the information, and began to anxiously wait for a response.

* * *

**Okay, that's a wrap! Since the goal was met, let's set another one. Can I get a minimum of 9+ reviews before we see the third and final chapter, please? **

**Please and Thank You!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright, thanks for the reviews, everyone! Since this is the last chapter, no review goal (I never set review goals for finale chapters). One comment spoke about a movie called Rags, but I promise you I haven't seen it, so no influence from that movie in this story. Another comment referred to this as "Lukarella," and I have to say, that's pretty good. And I just posted a Barbie in the Nutcracker AU with Lukanette, too. So, check it out and leave a review on that one, too. **

**Now, here's the final chapter of the story! When word gets out that Marinette's trying to find Viperion, Bob Roth tries to pass XY off as the snake-themed man while trying to prevent Luka from getting a chance to play the instrument. But you can't say snakes aren't known for being cunning and crafty.  
**

* * *

Luka had gotten some relief from the standard torment by going out on deliveries later that morning. The young man was making a stop at a nearby house, and he recognized the area as being close to where he'd dropped the lyre the previous night.

"Thank you. Enjoy your food." Luka said as he made his way back to his bike.

Sass quickly flew out of the nearby alleyway where they hid the night before.

"Any luck?" Luka asked.

"I'm afraid not." Sass reported sadly.

"Don't worry. We'll find it," Luka assured as Sass landed in his hand. "For now, let's get back to deliveries."

Sass dove into one of Luka's pockets, then he mounted his bike. He began peddling again. His phone was in his other pocket and it went off with a notification from the Miraculous Melodies social accounts.

"Luka, your phone." Sass pointed out.

"I'll have to look at it later, Sass," Luka stated. "I'm on the job."

He kept biking, focusing on his next delivery.

Meanwhile, Marinette was talking about her post with her parents. Alya was in audience, too.

"You used the social media platforms to reach out and see if you could track Viperion down?" Sabine asked.

"Yes," Marinette admitted. "I want to see him again."

"You're in love with him, aren't you, girl?" Alya said with a delighted laugh.

Marinette blushed and her eyes went askance. That was all they needed.

"Hahaha!" Tom laughed. "I'm glad our plan to help you find love worked!"

"Dad!" Marinette shouted, blushing.

"She's right about this, though," Sabine added. "We need to find him if we want him to sign on with us."

"That'd be great," Marinette said as she held the lyre in her hands. She gently hugged it close before sighing. "I have to find him again..."

* * *

Luka had finished his deliveries and once again went back to the area he dropped his lyre. Like Sass said earlier, it wasn't there. So, they decided to go back to the house and regroup. Unfortunately, more chores were waiting for him back home.

He was now in the living room, with Sass out in the open. XY was holing up in his room working on his records, and Bob Roth was out of the house for some reason. So, Luka just put his head down and kept working.

"I just can't understand how that lyre could've just up and vanished." Luka said as he was vacuuming the carpet.

"Normally when you change back, your lyre disappears with the suit," Sass explained. "Try transforming again and see if you have it."

"Good idea," Luka said. _"Sass, scales slither!"_

He transformed and looked himself over. Normally, his lyre would be in his hand, but this time it wasn't. He sighed before saying, _"Sass, scales rest."_

Changing back, Luka looked at Sass and said, "I didn't have it."

"Curious," Sass stated. "Maybe the young lady from last night picked it up?"

"That's a possibility." Luka stated as he picked the vacuum back up.

Deciding to let it go for the time being, Luka went back to cleaning the house. His phone beeped repeatedly with alerts, but he was too busy to look at it. He was also wincing from the scratching noises that XY was making on his records in his room.

A few minutes more of cleaning, and Luka was finished in the living room. Needing a break, he slumped his way to the couch and quickly sat down.

"You endure this on a daily basis? They're clearly too self-involved to help you." Sass questioned.

"Yeah," Luka said. "I _was_ gonna escape with Juleka several years ago, but Roth caught me... But I guess it isn't all bad."

"How so?" Sass asked.

"I wouldn't have met you... Or Marinette for that matter." Luka said as Sass landed in his hand.

"It's wise to look on the positive side of a situation." Sass agreed.

They heard the door to XY's room open, so Sass hid in Luka's jacket pocket.

"Yo, blueberry-head!" XY barked as he came into the living room. "Famished. Make me something to eat."

"Can't you do it yourself?" Luka questioned.

"Never learned how to cook." XY arrogantly stated.

Luka rolled his eyes while saying with a forced smile, "Never too late to learn."

"Whatever," XY stated with a wave of his fan. "Get cooking!"

Luka sighed before going into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and saw some chicken breasts, some eggs, potatoes, milk, etc. He even found a bit of arugula. He looked in the pantry to see the flour, some panko breadcrumbs, and Luka got an idea.

He was soon cooking chicken milanese with roasted potatoes and an arugula salad.

Sass peeked out from hiding, saying, "Smells good."

"Thanks." Luka spoke.

It took about half an hour, with XY whining about being hungry. Luka came with the plate and placed it in front of XY.

"There you go." Luka said before turning away and making to leave.

XY started eating, not even thanking Luka for his work.

Next thing Luka knew, he felt something hit him in the back of the head and he fell face-first to the floor in the kitchen.

He felt the food all over his head. He sat up, groaning, and rubbed his head.

"What?" Luka asked.

"You know I hate arugula!" XY spat.

"Then why was it in the fridge?" Luka muttered.

"What was that?" XY questioned.

Luka was about to fire back, but the door opened and said, "XY! Blue Brat!"

Luka internally groaned when he saw that his stepdad was back in the house.

"What's the matter, dad?" XY asked.

Bob Roth came in, carrying a lyre. A very old fashioned one, too.

"A lyre?" Luka said, his heart hopeful.

"Not for you, brat!" Bob Roth spat before handing it over to XY. "Hurry up, we need you proficient in the lyre, immediately!"

"What, why?" Luka asked, but he had a hunch why...

"There was this snake boy at the ball last night," Bob Roth explained. "Goes by Viper-Man or something."

"Viperion." Luka muttered.

"What did you say?" XY asked.

"Nothing." Luka said as he stood up to clean himself off.

"Anyway, he's a lyre player, and apparently the Dupain-Chengs' daughter is looking for him!" Bob Roth explained.

"Huh?" Luka asked, surprised.

"It's all over the social media! Haven't you been checking your phone, Blue Brat?" Bob Roth questioned.

Luka took his phone out and saw the posts from Miraculous Melodies.

It was a picture of Marinette with the lyre in her hands, and the caption said that he dropped his lyre and Marinette wanted to find and see him again.

"So I'm gonna make sure you're good enough on the lyre so that way we can secure the contract they're offering for him!" Bob Roth stated as he started pushing XY his room.

Luka watched sadly.

Sass peeked out and said, "It seems that young lady is quite taken with you, Luka."

Luka gave a silent nod.

"Brat, you clean the kitchen! You made a mess, dropping that food! What a waste!" Roth barked.

"Your son made me cook for him and he threw the food at me." Luka explained angrily.

"Don't care!" Bob Roth waved off angrily. "Get back to cleaning."

Luka rolled his eyes and picked up a mop to clean the kitchen.

Back with Marinette, she was scouring the comments on her post, but no one had any information on Viperion. Comments included, 'Who plays the lyre in this day and age?' 'I don't recognize this guy from anywhere. And I've never seen someone play the lyre before last night.' 'You'd think someone would play a more modern instrument, too. A guitar, for example.'

"Nuts," Marinette said sadly as she lowered her eyes. "Nothing yet."

"It hasn't been that long since you posted, Marinette," Alya said with a laugh. "I think it's gonna take time to track down a lyre player."

Marinette, depressed over the lack of progress, sighed before telling Alya, "I know Alya, but... I... I..."

"You can say it." Alya said, reassuring her best friend.

"I love him!" Marinette admitted. "And I want to see him again! Hear his music again. Be in his arms again! I... I've never felt like this before."

Alya gave Marinette a hug, then said, "First love is a wonderful thing."

There was a beep on the computer, and the girls went to look at it.

"I got a lead!" Marinette said delightedly. "It says, 'I know who you're looking for. Come to the Bob Roth Residence at your earliest convenience.' Bob Roth? He was there at the ball last night."

"Girl, this is Bob Roth we're talking about," Alya said. "He'll do _anything_ to make money. He even tried to trick you when it came to one of Jagged's album designs. I'd take this lead with a grain of salt."

"Yeah," Marinette said. "They were there last night, so I know for a fact that it can't be XY. Or even Roth for that matter."

"So what's your thought process?" Alya asked.

"It's only worth looking into because its my only lead, but I'm not gonna hold my breath." Marinette said as she picked up the lyre.

"Probably a good idea. The proof of the pudding is in the eating after all." Alya said.

"He says "come at your earliest convenience." I'll reply and tell him I should be by in the next few hours." Marinette said as she picked up the phone and started to dial Roth. Her gut was swirling with some strange feeling, though.

Was it dread? Hope that things would be okay? Or something else altogether?

Back at the Roth residence, Luka was still cleaning the house. He was trying his best to block out the dreadful noise that his stepbrother was making in his room.

"Ugh, that man is terrible," Sass spoke, covering his invisible ears. "How is he even in this business?"

"Nepotism. His father has connections everywhere and that's why XY's even a DJ. I'm sure it was Roth's work that made him steal the #1 spot from Jagged Stone for one period." Luka explained.

"You're a much more proficient musician, Luka." Sass complimented.

"Thanks." Luka said while he kept wiping the counters down while mentally tuning out the racket.

His mind went back to Marinette. He remembered how cute she was, how graceful she was on the dance floor, and how she seemed to just pull him in with her pretty blue eyes. Not to mention how beautiful she was in the dress she was wearing.

He found a connection with her, and he was happy to have met such an amazing girl, and mentally cherishing the dance they shared.

Before he knew it, he got so relaxed with his thoughts that he started to hum the same song he played the night before. He moved the cloth across the countertops in time with the humming.

Sass soon heard the sound of a door opening upstairs, followed by descending footsteps. The kwami ducked back into hiding.

Bob Roth was complaining about the noise his son was making as he stomped in to check on Luka.

"Blue Brat! How are you-?" Roth began, but then he stopped when he heard _exactly_ what Luka was humming.

Luka as still off in his own world and humming, but the minute he felt something on his shoulder, he gasped and whirled around to see the evil smile on Roth's face.

"So, where'd you hear that song?" Roth asked.

Luka refused to answer, and he merely glared Roth down. He said, "I don't think that's any of your business."

"Oh, but it _is_," Roth began as he smiled and snagged Luka's arms. "You're humming the song that Viper-Man played last night."

"How do you know I didn't just hear a similar song on social media and just decided I liked it?" Luka suggested.

"I've been scouring social media pages all day to find any clues on Viperion, but nothing came up except speculations," Bob Roth replied. "And now I know _why_ there's no information about him. _YOU _were that snake!"

_'Crap, what am I gonna do? I can't let him find out about Sass!' _Luka thought, staying calm while trying to think.

Luka was about to try and find a way out of his bind, but then Roth's phone went off.

He grumbled and picked up the phone. He saw that Marinette was calling him, and he picked up.

"Why, hello there, Marinette," Bob Roth said. "I see you got my message."

_"Yes, I did," _Marinette said with a professional tone. _"Are you available?"_

"Yes, I'm at my home right now. Why don't you stop by?" Bob said, trying to be friendly.

_"Okay. I'm on my way." _Marinette said before hanging up the phone.

"Perfect!" Roth said, his smile growing.

"What?" Luka asked.

"Well, I invited the Dupain-Chengs' daughter over so XY can play the lyre for her," Bob Roth explained. "And now that I know that _you're_ Viperion, you're not gonna be able to do a thing! That contract is gonna be XY's!"

Roth then grabbed Luka's arm and started dragging him to his bedroom.

"Hey, let go of me!" Luka shouted. "You're hurting me!"

"Don't care." Roth replied.

"Stop!" Luka shouted, but then he was literally thrown into his bedroom.

"You're staying in here until Marinette leaves! And just to make sure you can't get out..." Roth said, before holding up a key.

"No, please! Don't do this! What about the rest of the house? I'm not done cleaning yet." Luka pleaded.

"You'll be let out to finish cleaning when she's gone. No exceptions!" Roth ordered before slamming the door and locking it.

"NO!" Luka shouted, running to the door and pounding on it. "Let me out! Please!"

Roth ignored Luka's pleas as he smirked evilly. Roth left Luka in his room with an evil chuckle, and he started making his way to XY's room to tell him the news.

Luka kept pounding on the door, but then he sighed before slinking down to the floor.

"Great, now what am I gonna do?" Luka questioned while Sass came out of his jacket pocket. "Let's think. My father wouldn't have given up. So neither will I."

"That's the spirit." Sass said, a proud smile on his face.

"Now let's find a way out." Luka said as he started looking around for something he could use to unlock the door. He saw his dresser drawer and decided to look for some ideas.

Bob Roth was in the living room, looking at his watch. XY came down the stairs, lyre in hand, and said, "Hey dad, where's the brat?"

"Locked him in his room so he doesn't get in the way of our meeting with Marinette. She should be here soon," Bob Roth explained. "Now get back to practicing that lyre!"

"Fine, dad." He said as he held the instrument back up and started strumming the strings again - quite poorly, at that.

Roth was covering his ears and trying his best to tune out the bad music.

The doorbell then rang, and Bob Roth answered, saying, "Roth residence."

_"Hello, Mr. Roth? This is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I'm here because you said you know Viperion?"_ Marinette asked through the intercom.

"Why, yes, I do," He said before opening the door. "Come on in."

Marinette cautiously stepped into the house, looked around, and said, "You have a beautiful home."

"Thank you, Marinette," Bob Roth began. "Now, let me present my son, XY!"

Marinette looked between the two men, and she questioned, "Does anyone _else_ live in this house?"

"Of course not. It's only me and XY." Roth lied.

"But you were both at the ball last night." Marinette stated.

"Y-Yes, of course we were," XY haughtily confirmed. "But I've been on string instruments since before I could walk."

Luka could hear them from his bedroom.

"That liar," Luka growled. He was trying to find something to pick the lock with. "_I'm_ the one who's been playing the guitar since diapers."

Sass wasn't amused, either.

Back out in the living room, Marinette sighed before saying, "Okay, if you insist on this..."

Marinette handed XY the lyre.

XY started strumming the strings to try and play the song, but he was getting all of the notes wrong, the pitch was either too high or too low, and it just sounded _wrong_. The music was so loud that Luka could hear it in his room.

Marinette groaned with her ears covered, saying, "You said you've played the lyre since you were a baby? It doesn't sound like it!"

"Oh come on," XY lied again. "Of course I've been playing since then. I mean, I was able to come up and master that song in ten minutes."

"Seriously? In ten minutes?" Luka griped from inside his room. He'd just taken his hands off his ears. "He couldn't even play the song the way it's supposed to be played!"

"Quite pathetic." Sass agreed.

"Think, Luka... There's gotta be something in here that'll... Aha!" Luka said as he took out a bobby pin that Juleka had left behind.

XY started playing the instrument again, this time louder. But again, he was terrible - the notes that he was playing were totally off-key, he wasn't holding it right, and he was _dangerously_ close to dropping the thing.

"Okay, okay, I've heard enough!" Marinette declared before taking the lyre back. She took a deep breath before looking at Bob Roth. "I think I should leave."

"You can't!" XY insisted as he tried to grab the lyre again. Marinette kept it away from him.

"And why not?" Marinette asked.

"You haven't offered XY the contract." Bob Roth began as he tried to block the door.

"And I don't plan on offering it, either," Marinette explained. "That's for my parents to decide. I only responded to your request because it was the only lead I had. But this is a dead end."

"You should listen to XY on the records! B-Besides, it's been a while since he's playing a real instrument..." Bob insisted, trying to get Marinette to stay.

"And why don't you stay so we can talk about future costumes for me, too?" XY asked, trying to grab Marinette's wrist again. "I can make us lunch."

"You can't even cook!" Bob Roth reminded.

"Listen..." Marinette began, getting frustrated with the two men in the house.

Luka was picking the lock, but there was no luck. He could hear Marinette talking with XY and Roth, and he was worried Marinette was gonna walk out.

"Come on, come on..." Luka muttered. Sass tapped Luka's shoulder.

"Luka," Sass said, coming in front of his owner's face. "Back away for a second. Leave this to me."

Luka stepped away from the door. Sass phased into the keyhole, there was a loud click, then Sass phased back out.

"How'd you do that?" Luka asked.

"One of a kwami's many powers," Sass said. "I should have done this sooner, I admit. Now go and stop her."

Sass flew back into hiding as Luka put his hand on the doorknob.

"Look, Mr. Roth, you're wasting my time," Marinette said, resigned. "Your son clearly can't play the lyre, and if there isn't anyone else that lives in this house, I might as well go. I have better things to do."

"No, no, XY can get the lyre right! He's just a little... rusty!" Bob Roth lied, trying to shove XY into Marinette's space while trying to grab at Viperion's lyre.

"No," Marinette said, ducking away. "I know the both of you were at the ball last night, so _neither_ of you could be Viperion. Do you really think I'm that stupid? You were lying to me from the get-go and I do _not_ like liars. Now, if you excuse me..."

Marinette turned to go for the house door, only for Luka to open his bedroom door and ask, "May I give it a try? I can play guitar."

Marinette whirled around to face Luka, who was giving her a kind smile. The familiarity she got from looking at him made her heart throb.

"Hey! How'd you get out of your room?! Dad locked you in there!" XY shouted.

"Come again, XY?" Marinette said angrily, her tone low.

Bob Roth and XY flinched and paused.

"So, you lied to me about only having the two of you in the house, _and_ you also locked someone in his own room. Not cool," Marinette said as she approached Luka. She looked at him and smiled. "So... What's your name?"

"Luka Couffaine." He replied.

"Well, Luka... Will you try?" Marinette said as she handed the lyre over to Luka.

"Hey, Luka didn't even _go_ to the party! We kept him from going!" XY blabbed, earning another glare from Marinette.

"Or so you think." Luka said, scowling at his stepfamily as he held up the lyre.

"I see." Marinette said, giving a side-glare to the Roths before giving Luka a smile.

Luka gave a nod before playing the instrument. He memorized the notes he played the previous night, and he played them on the instrument as if he'd been playing his entire life.

Marinette gasped, about to cry tears of joy. It was the same song Luka played the night before. Every note, every pitch, the stance he held on his feet. The smile he had, the message the song sent...

Marinette started crying, her happiness overflowing.

"It's you... _YOU'RE _Viperion!" Marinette squealed.

Luka lowered the lyre and gave a nod, saying, "Yep. That's me."

"I... I finally found you!" Marinette said, before running into his embrace. "I've been looking everywhere. You... You've really made the impression on me."

Luka hugged Marinette back, chuckling. He replied, "I guess I'm one charming snake, huh?"

Marinette smiled with a laugh before standing on her tiptoes for a kiss.

"I won't have this!" Roth shouted, killing the moment, causing the twosome to look over to him. "You broke my rules and defied my orders, Luka! I don't know _how_ you did it, but..."

Luka put a finger to his lips and gave a loud "shh," causing Roth to shut up immediately.

"You found out I was Viperion, and tried keeping me from rightfully stepping up," Luka said, holding Marinette tight to him by the shoulder. "And you've been ripping off my music for years. You're a horrible stepfather, and I'm glad I could say so."

"Your stepfather?" Marinette asked, earning a nod from Luka. "I guess that means I should call in CPS on you guys for child abuse."

Roth and XY flinched.

"I'm nearly eighteen anyway. Statue of limitations and all," Luka chuckled. "So long as I get justice, I'll be satisfied."

"Then let's go," Marinette said eagerly. "My parents have been wanting to offer you a contract for Miraculous Melodies. We can discuss the terms when we get back to the office."

"I'd love to," Luka said as he followed Marinette to leave the house. But his eyes wandered to the other men in the room. "By the way, is there any chance you guys could provide me with a new guitar? My stepbrother wrecked it on purpose."

Marinette smiled and said, "I'm sure there's something we can do. Come on."

The pair left, leaving Bob Roth and XY in the house, dumbfounded. Inside his owner's jacket pocket, Sass smiled in satisfaction.

* * *

_Epilogue_

_Marinette brought Luka back to Miraculous Melodies thereafter. She introduced him to her parents as the man behind Viperion. After looking over the terms of the deal, he signed on to the label. And he couldn't have made a better decision. _

_He was given a new guitar, and it was even better than his old one. _

_His first record was immediately a smash success for the company. Everyone loved Luka and his music, and he was finally free to play the music he wanted instead of what XY and Roth wanted him to do. He became a rising star, and he even did collaborations with Jagged Stone, which was a dream-come-true for Luka. _

_Luka moved in to the dorms that Miraculous Melodies provided for their workers, and he'd often invite Juleka and Rose to come and go as they pleased. He was happy to have his own space. _

_Sass stayed with his charge, being a constant companion for Luka. He'd hide whenever there were other people around, though, as usual. _

_His romance with Marinette only blossomed. She was a recurring guest in his bedroom, he often wrote songs for her, and she'd often make him gifts and accessories for his clothes. The two of them fell deeper in love and they grew closer with every day. _

_In fact, after one particular day, Luka serenaded her with his guitar, playing the exact same song he played for her on the night they first met. He then confessed he intended on releasing it as a new single. What did he get in return? Marinette tackling him onto the bed and kissing him hard on the lips. Needless to say, he didn't object at all. _

_As for XY and Bob Roth, once it got out that he'd been stealing Luka's music for such a long time, he'd lost his reputation for good. And he was also put into prison for how he was treating Luka. XY got the same sentence, including a hefty fine for damage of private property (breaking Luka's guitar)._

_As the years passed, Luka's fame grew to the point where he was often in friendly competition with Jagged, and they soon built a father-son-like bond. And the fact that they had Marinette as a mutual favorite designer helped. _

_Speaking of Marinette, once they were in their mid-twenties, Luka decided to take the next step. _

_They were one day walking down the streets of Paris, holding hands. Luka stopped walking and he said, "Marinette? Can I talk to you?"_

_"What's up, Luka?" Marinette asked. _

_"We've been together for years, and they've been the happiest years of my life," He said as he pulled something out of his pocket. "But I want more, for the both of us." _

_"Y...You do?" Marinette asked, blushing. _

_"Yes," Luka said. "You're the most extraordinary woman, Marinette. As clear as a musical note, and as sincere as a melody. You're the music that's been playing inside my head since the day we first met." _

_Marinette's blush turned deeper as she saw Luka drop to one knee. She covered her mouth when she realized what he was going to do. He pulled out a diamond ring. _

_"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, will you marry me?" Luka asked. _

_Marinette, crying tears of joy, leaped onto Luka and smothered his face in kisses, saying, "Yes! Of course I will!" _

_She was continuing to smooch him senseless, and Luka didn't object. He hugged his beloved close to him, and he gently slipped the ring onto her ring finger. They continued to kiss each other crazy._

_Cheering was heard from nearby, and they were surprised to see Marinette's parents, Jagged Stone and Penny, Alya and Nino, Rose and Juleka, and so many more of their friends had been watching._

_"Everyone! How long have you been there?!" Marinette asked. _

_"Long enough," Sabine giggled. "About time you popped the question, Luka. Tom was starting to talk about setting the mood so you could do it." _

_Marinette blushed, meanwhile Luka seemed chill about the whole thing as usual._

_"Hey Marinette! You'd better make me your maid of honor!" Alya shouted. _

_"I'll be in charge of the wedding music!" Nino declared. _

_"We can be your other bridesmaids!" Rose proposed, referring to herself and Juleka. _

_"Hey, what about your groomsmen, Luka?" Tom asked. "Or even your best man?" _

_Luka chuckled as he hugged Marinette close to him. She was still redder than a ladybug. _

_About a year or so later, they had their wedding ceremony. It was simple, but elegant and Marinette even made her own wedding dress AND Luka's tuxedo._

_"I now pronounce you man and wife! You may kiss the bride!" Mayor Bourgeois said. Luka took Marinette into his arms and kissed her soundly. _

_Over time, their love grew, and they created their own family. They soon had a daughter that they aptly named Mélodie and she was the perfect blend of their features. She had her parents' eyes, Luka's skin tone, Marinette's hair, and both of their artistic talents. She had inherited her father's laid-back outlook on life and his wisdom, but she shared her mother's need for complexity in her plans, her creativity, and her brains. _

_On the whole, Luka and Marinette had one thing: happily ever after.  
_

* * *

**And that's a wrap for this Cinderella Lukanette! I hope you enjoyed this. Sure, not many people read it, but I like doing these Lukanette fairy tails. Hey, maybe another one will come along soon. Maybe Beauty and the Beast? **


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